Chikadee
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hi guys!
I am new to this site and the aquaria world, so I apologize in advance for my newbie questions.
I currently have a 10 gallon tank with a few guppies, and some other fish in it that I set up about two months ago. Last night, I noticed I had some baby fish! I wasn't even aware that any of my female guppies were pregnant! So I did some quick research online and found out that the dark spot at the end of her abdomen means she was pregnant. So today I bought a breeder's box thing, where the mommy goes on top and the babies drop through to the bottom to avoid being eaten. We eventually caught 6 fry (I assume that's all there is...) and put them in the breeder's box.
Now the question is, the presumed mother (she's the fattest of my four girl guppies) is still really really huge. Will she give birth again in the next few days? I put her in the box just to be safe, but I'm not sure if she'll have more babies. Is there a way I can tell? She is really big and the gravid spot is really dark. I don't want to keep her in there if she's not going to have more, cuz it makes it harder to feed the fry and I think it's stressing her out.
Also, I've read that the fry can eat powdered flake food. So I put a little bit in there, and most of it just floated to the bottom of the box. The fry can easily reach the food, but I'm not sure if they can see it or if the food is still good. Should I dump the food out periodically and put more in? Also, how long should I keep them in the box before they're safe to go into the tank without being eaten? Is powdered flake food the best food they should eat? Should I feed them some freeze dried blood worms as well? (that's all the food I have right now... but I could get more if other types are recommended)
Any advice you guys could give me would be great! Thanks in advance!
I am new to this site and the aquaria world, so I apologize in advance for my newbie questions.
I currently have a 10 gallon tank with a few guppies, and some other fish in it that I set up about two months ago. Last night, I noticed I had some baby fish! I wasn't even aware that any of my female guppies were pregnant! So I did some quick research online and found out that the dark spot at the end of her abdomen means she was pregnant. So today I bought a breeder's box thing, where the mommy goes on top and the babies drop through to the bottom to avoid being eaten. We eventually caught 6 fry (I assume that's all there is...) and put them in the breeder's box.
Now the question is, the presumed mother (she's the fattest of my four girl guppies) is still really really huge. Will she give birth again in the next few days? I put her in the box just to be safe, but I'm not sure if she'll have more babies. Is there a way I can tell? She is really big and the gravid spot is really dark. I don't want to keep her in there if she's not going to have more, cuz it makes it harder to feed the fry and I think it's stressing her out.
Also, I've read that the fry can eat powdered flake food. So I put a little bit in there, and most of it just floated to the bottom of the box. The fry can easily reach the food, but I'm not sure if they can see it or if the food is still good. Should I dump the food out periodically and put more in? Also, how long should I keep them in the box before they're safe to go into the tank without being eaten? Is powdered flake food the best food they should eat? Should I feed them some freeze dried blood worms as well? (that's all the food I have right now... but I could get more if other types are recommended)
Any advice you guys could give me would be great! Thanks in advance!